Two kinds of experts are of paramount importance for the Muslim Ummah in the contemporary era:

First and foremost we need such Islamic Scholars who have an unwavering belief in the divinity of Almighty Allah,God-consciousness, God-reliance, devotion, spiritual & physical hygiene, profound knowledge as well as purity of intentions & fidelity in deeds. Such Ulama, would then be deserving representatives of the charismatic character,intellectual calibre, keen insight & the constructive fervour of our legendary traditional scholars & pious predecessors. It is imperative for such Ulama to be cognizant of the complex circumstances of the present age as well as understand the psychology & anxieties of the educated strata of society especially the youth. These authentic Islamic scholars should be capable of communicating with them in their own language in accordance with their level of comprehension,thereby effectively addressing their doubts, apprehensions & problems.

Moreover, such reflective Ulama will be able to convincingly represent Islam to the alumnus of colleges and universities as a natural system of belief that compliments human nature and is the only comprehensive solution for the myriad quandaries of life. The hearts & minds of such vibrant Ulama will not harbour feelings of rancour, intolerance & antagonism towards the morally polluted society. Instead, their temperament will be infused with compassion,fellow-feeling & a spirit of positive reform. They will be able to persuasively convey the compassionate message of Islam in the written and spoken form with a distinctly empathetic, caring & heartfelt disposition to not only the Muslims but also to our human brethren in our nation and the world at large.

Secondly, another critical need of our community is the presence of Muslims who would themselves be genuine followers of Islam in letter & spirit, in all the fields of public affairs like law, administration, management, civil service, defence, health, education, economics, journalism, literature, science, engineering, industries, business and commerce. They would be professionals who shall strive to disseminate & demonstrate the true image of Islam in their respective fields & careers. Such professionals would establish a unique identity in their respective areas of work accruing from sound technical expertise, along with absolute integrity, wisdom and a throbbing spirit of social welfare. They shall firmly believe that these technical professions & commercial occupations are not only a source of earning temporal wealth, but it is also an opportunity for selfless service to humanity, propagation of the Deen-al-haq and a means to seek the closeness with & the pleasure of Allah. This approach of a Muslim professional is a potential path to achieve ultimate salvation.

Daral Uloom Imam-e-Rabbani has essentially been established to produce these two types of intellectuals.Keeping all these aims and objectives in mind, various guidelines such as the educational curriculum, scholastic methodology, boarding, uniform and lifestyle,daily routine, sports and physical fitness, have been set. Furthermore, we are continuously trying to improve the educational process for the best possible scholastic experience. Besides, one of our primary goals is that, the obligation of obtaining traditional Islamic education of the Quran & Hadees should not remain confined to the poor, orphaned, and rural people only. It should also be a genuine educational avenue for the children of the affluent, well settled and the temporally intellectual Muslims, thereby enabling them to become well versed in the traditional & divinely revealed knowledge as well. (A cursory hint is enough for a perceptive mind.)

We feel it is equally important to note that, today there is a palpable sense of willingness and many people like us who are the representatives of the traditional Islamic system of education, desire to move ahead and bring about a constructive integration of the two divided spheres of education, strictly within the permissible limits. This is a natural consequence & progression of the remarkable success achieved by the outstanding Islamic seminaries, through this traditional methodology in preserving authentic Islam inspite of the pervasive turmoil and unfavorable conditions on both the national and international fronts.

This humble servant about 23 years ago had written the following on this topic:

“If we glance over the circumstances prevailing 50-60 years ago, analyse the mind-sets of the people of that time who harboured concerns for the collective welfare of the Ummah, if we interact with them and observe the discussions, talks and writings of the people with sincerity &authentic authority of that generation, we would clearly decipher the unmistakable signs of an undercurrent of ‘defense’ and ‘protection’ in their approach. The center of concern in that era was to safe-guard the Muslim Ummah from the ideological indoctrination and the overwhelming impact of the western culture,the hegemony of the majority & the storm of Brahmin communal dominance. It was perceived to be critically important that the entire humanity be invited towards Islam without any differentiation between the east and the west.Furthermore, Islamic centres of learning need to be established in each &every country of the world, thereby enabling the calls of Allah-u-Akbar to reverberate from the centres of disbelief and oppression.

Discussions on the ways & means to draw people of countries like Britain, France & United States of America towards Islam, a significant increase in the number of people embracing Islam everyday in these countries whose hearts have opened towards the invitation of the haq (the absolute truth) – These are events that were unimaginable in an earlier era. However, today it is a reality that is obviously manifested in front of our very own eyes. Moreover, there are clear indications of even better developments in the near future. To comprehend this fact, one doesn’t need any exceptional insight. A cursory observation of the circumstances is enough to grasp this reality.”

The circumstances that we are witnessing today are indicative of the fact that the process of Islamic Dawah is entering a new phase. This has led to the realization of the need to have significant numbers of such Islamic scholars who are proficient in English as well as other regional & international languages. Furthermore, such Islamic scholars should ideally, not only possess deep insight of Islamic Shariah but also be well informed about the problems& circumstances of the present times.

These positive developments are intentional or unintentional consequences of the extraordinary services rendered by our remarkable traditional Islamic seminaries as well as several movements of Islamic Dawah and revivalist campaigns. All the representatives of Darul Uloom Imam e Rabbani earnestly revere this remarkable legacy of our traditional methodology of education as well as salute the divinely blessed luminaries who were the founders and trend setters of such institutions. We beseech Almighty Allah to help us to always remain steadfast on the path of our rightly guided predecessors.

We felt the need for this clarification because some of our brothers while unduly stressing the importance of modern empirical education appear to suggest that the value of this critical need of our community was overlooked by the great founders of our traditional seminaries. We very respectfully, but with complete trust and conviction declare that such a perception is far from the truth. One of the first students of Darul Uloom Deoband, and a prominent leading light of this traditional system of education, Sheikh-ul-Hind Hazrat Maulana Mehmood Hasan Deobandi was among those who deeply felt the need for modern education imparted within our traditional, spiritually & morally pure environment.Highlighting the same in an inaugural address in the mosque of Aligarh College on the occasion of the establishment of a new institution, on 29th October 1920, said:

“The education of Muslims should be in the hands of Muslims themselves. Completely free from the evil of an alien culture so that we can maintain our worthy beliefs & thoughts as well as our worthy conduct & deeds unpolluted from the effects of foreign influence. The collective decision of our majestic & splendid civilization should most certainly not be that of developing generations of very cheap labourers from our colleges. Instead, our colleges should be models similar to the universities of Cordoba & Baghdad. We do not need to look at our colonial masters to get inspired. It is far more befitting for us to get inspiration from our own outstanding universities which laid the foundations of the European renaissance itself.”

“According to me, the proper foundations ofa righteous way of life in Islamic societies are:

Presence of a sound and correct understanding of Islam.

An appropriate & balanced system of education.

The knowledge of divine revelation and prophetic traditions which is beyond any shred of doubt, the foundation of guidance in every age & of every virtuous civilization”

It is required to combine these elements along with the discoveries, experiments & systems in which the west has marched ahead.

We firmly believe that it is the need of the hour, to steadfastly strive to actualize the vision of these great scholars and reformers. Darul Uloom Imam-e-Rabbani is a vital initiative of this very struggle. To succeed in this endeavour, along with the guidance and help of Almighty Allah, we also earnestly require your trust, support and prayers. Allah s.w.t. encourages us for the same in the following words of the Glorious Quran - “…who are the ones who will help in the cause of Allah…”

To know more about the educational curriculum & detailed functioning of Darul Uloom Imam e Rabbani, please go through the following pages for further details.